Tower of Druaga
From Freepedia
| Tower of Druaga | |
| Image:Todruaga.png | |
| Developer | Namco |
| Publisher | Namco |
| Release date | 06/1984 |
| Genre | Maze |
| Modes | Up to 2 players, alternating turns |
The Tower of Druaga is an arcade game published by Namco in 1984. It was unheard of outside Japan until the release of the third Namco Museum game. It was later ported to the MSX, NES and TG16 platform. Although Tower of Druaga is still very popular in Japan, many Americans dislike the game, due to its overwhelming difficulty. Criticism to it is common, and reviews of the game often contain negative comments and putting the game down, often calling it a hack of Gauntlet, or even a ripoff of The Legend of Zelda.
Contents |
Gameplay
The player assumes the role of the hero Gilgamesh, whose goal is to rescue the maiden Ki (pronounced "Kai") from the demon Druaga. In order to do this, he must traverse through 60 floors of an immense tower. Each floor consists of a randomly generated maze filled with monsters, and a locked door leading to the next level. The player must navigate through the maze in order to find a key that unlocks the door. In addition, each floor contains a hidden treasure, which appears once the player has performed a specific requirement. Some of the treasures contain merely helpful items, while some contain items essential to completing the game. Gilgamesh comes equipped with a sword, which he can use to defeat monsters, and a shield, which can be used to block magical attacks. The monsters get progressively more difficult as the game progresses, beginning with simple slimes and culminating with Druaga himself.
The following regular enemies are: slimes, magicians, ghosts, knights, lizard men, ropers (which look like huge blobs with tentacles), and dragons.
In the third Namco Museum game, there is a small handbook telling how to get the treasures. There is also a hidden version far more difficult than the regular. The treasures (save the first one) are all alternated in how to get. In the museum's library, there are three books containing illustrations of the game's characters.
Tips and Hints
- Gilgamesh can block the spells from the front. If the sword is drawn, spells can only be blocked from the left.
- Some will-o-wisp will come out when the time is running out. On higher floors, they can appear from the start.
- In the Namco Museum version, after the player loses, as long as they have credits (many might be recommended) they can hold down the Square button and press Start and a screen saying Select Start Floor will appear. Then the player can choose a floor and continue without starting over from the bottom.
- If a ghost crosses over the player, the player doesn't lose a life. The only way a ghost can kill the player is if its spells hit the player.
- Ropers are classified by their tentacle color (i.e. blue ropers have blue tentacles).
- There are four types of spells: white spells are produced by mages, mage ghosts, and red slimes; red spells by sorcerers; blue spells by druids, druid ghosts, and blue slimes; and green spells by wizards, wizard ghosts, dark green slimes, and Druaga. All spells can also be produced by dark yellow slimes.
- White spells are regular spells. They stop if they hit a wall.
- Red spells create a small fire.
- Blue spells break down walls (except outside walls).
- Green spells are the most annoying, and can go through walls.
- Don't leave the 59th without killing Druaga, or (on the 60th floor) killing Ishtar or Ki, or using the pickax; if you do any of these, you will go to an earlier floor. Therefore, on the 60th floor, it is best if the player does not swing the sword at all.
Sequels
Several sequels were later made, further chronicling the feats of Gilgamesh and Ki. These were:
- The Return of Ishtar (1986) - Arcade, MSX2
- The Quest of Ki (1988) - NES
- The Blue Crystal Rod (1994) - SNES
- The Nightmare of Druaga (2004) - PlayStation 2
The sequels were not as successful as the first game (although Return of Ishtar came very close).
The Return of Ishtar
It picks up where Tower of Druaga left off, and was released on the fourth Namco Museum game. The player controls two characters: Ki as well as Gilgamesh. It can also be noted in this game that Ki is a warrior, not a damsel in distress like many people believe. The tower now has a few different ways to exit, and the aggregate total of levels is 128 (covering the 60-floor tower).
In the fourth Namco Museum game, you control Ki with the directional pad and Gilgamesh with the buttons. Because the latter draws his sword whenever an enemy is near, it is recommended by most that you mainly control Ki. There is also a small handbook included which shows you passwords and floor maps that make it easier to win.
The Quest of Ki
It is basically a prequel to Tower of Druaga. See the Quest of Ki article for more explanation.
The Blue Crystal Rod
The least well-known of the sequels, this picks up where Return of Ishtar left off and is the final game in the Tower of Druaga series, according to Namco.
The Nightmare of Druaga
This game is set three years after the original Tower of Druaga tetrology. In it, Ki and Gilgamesh are about to be married, however, Ki is kidnapped by an evil sorceress, Skulld, and Gilgamesh has to save her again. The game is known for its unforgiving difficulty, as death in the game results in losing all your items and half your gold. In terms of actual gameplay, this game actually has more in common with the Mysterious Dungeon series (see third paragraph).
In this game, Ishtar (who is good-natured in earlier games) is portrayed as bossy, and whoever resets the game gets yelled at by her for "meddling with the flow of time". According to one person, she is described as "one lousy b---h and will truly make you pay." [1]
This game was not made by Namco (but by two other companies called Arika and ChunSoft), and was far from the success of the much older games, and was even given a low rating in a video game magazine. This game is the fifth in the "Druaga series" (not counting "Druruaga" [sic] for Game Boy Color), and the eighth in the aforementioned Mysterious Dungeon series.
Trivia
- The original is actually one of the first games of its kind.
- The names of the characters come from Mesopotamian mythology.
- The enemy that looks like Ishtar on the 57th floor is actually a succubus. In the original game, the succubus dies in one hit, but in Tales of Destiny, she is very hard to defeat.
- The tower is apparently made of bricks, and in some pictures of the tower it appears to be red or lead-encased.
- The series has been often referenced in other Namco games.
- In Tales of Phantasia much of the equipment used by Gilgamesh could be obtained.
- Tales of Destiny contained an optional dungeon based directly off of the original Tower of Druaga (but with different treasures).
- In Tales of Symphonia, the equipment used by Gilgamesh could be obtained, and the character Zelos could gain a special title by wearing it.
- Several characters from the series appear in Namco X Capcom
- In Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, the Tower of Druaga makes an appearance as a puzzle in Mira, complete with slimes and tools.
- In Soul Calibur 2, one of Sophitia's alternate costumes was based off of Ki's design. In addition, one of her weapon sets was the Blue Crystal Rod and Blue Line Shield, equipment formerly used by Gilgamesh and Ki. The Red Crystal Rod and Red Line Shield are also available as bonus weapons for Cassandra.
Categories: 1984 arcade games | 1984 computer and video games | Namco games | Arcade games | Game Boy games | NES games
